


They Said That You Had It Coming, but I Wouldn't Bet

by chocobee



Series: Whumptober 2018 [6]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Betrayal, Blood and Injury, Explicit Language, Gen, Poor Prompto Argentum, Whump, Whumptober 2018, World of Ruin, Xenophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-05
Updated: 2018-12-05
Packaged: 2019-08-26 09:33:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,885
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16679074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chocobee/pseuds/chocobee
Summary: “Don't,” Prompto says, just as Lux takes a step backwards towards the truck. “Lux, seriously, this isn't fucking funny.”Lux glances back at Mel, and she shrugs an uncaring shoulder, casual, like the two of them aren't leaving someone for dead. Lux turns his back to Prompto and says, “Let's go. One less Nif we'll have to worry about.” He sounds only a little smug, and Prompto wants to scream.“You can't just-leaveme here!” Prompto says, scrambling to get up and go after Lux as he rounds the truck and opens the passenger door. “Wait!”Day 6: Betrayed





	They Said That You Had It Coming, but I Wouldn't Bet

**Author's Note:**

> Despite it being December already, I'm still posting these... Still been really busy with school, especially with finals coming up, but once those are over I'll be on break for a month or so and I plan to hopefully get a lot done, if not finally finishing this series! I was really tired while adding the final touches and proofreading this, so apologies for any mistakes or weird wordings or such.
> 
> Enjoy these two random OCs... Went with the usual Latin words for Lucian names, so according to Google Translate, Mel means honey and Lux means light. Title is from "Albatross" by Foals.

Prompto knows he’s not going to get along with every single person he meets. He knows this, just like he knows some people will do a little more than glance at his obviously foreign appearance.

Any other time, he’d get over it, but now with Noct gone and the nights looming, he’d assumed everyone would put their differences aside for the time being and work together. For the most part, that’s true, but some Lucians were still understandably angry over everything Niflheim had done. (And it seems so long ago, after everything they’ve been through, that they’d stood on that cliff and watched Insomnia burn.)

It’s not like he’s never gotten shit for being a Nif. Even before everything went to hell, when he was younger, there had always been snide remarks made not quite behind his back and dirty looks thrown his way in the hallways at school, at his part-time job, anywhere he went. He knows Noct coming back and breaking down borders isn’t going to magically change peoples’ views.

However, he’s on decent enough terms with most of the hunters he works with, and with everything else going on, a few xenophobic comments are truly the least of his worries.

He spends most of his time in Hammerhead these days (or, nights). Usually he just helps out with whatever Cindy needs, or goes on jobs from other hunters that she passes on to him. His most current job is a pretty simple supply run to Meldacio, nothing he hasn’t done before. Gladio would be there, he’d heard, so it’d be nice to see him, if only for a short while.

He has two hunters, Mel and Lux, accompanying him. He hasn’t worked with either of them much despite them often hanging around Hammerhead as well, but more than once he’d caught Lux glaring at him when he thought Prompto wasn’t looking, though he’d never said anything to Prompto outright. Mel hung around Lux enough that she probably shared whatever ill-will the guy held towards.

According to the watch he’s taken to carrying around, it’s still pretty early when Prompto meets up with the two of them to hit the road. He offers to drive, trying to be friendly. It’s not too long of a trip, only two to three hours of driving at the most, so they wouldn’t need to stop and switch more than once, if at all. They manage to snag one of the trucks that have those special daemon-proof headlights Cindy installed and set off well before noon.

The ride is quiet, a little tense and awkward. Prompto doesn’t bother trying to make much small talk, just leaves the radio playing softly to fill the silence. The other two don’t seem to mind, both doing their own thing. Lux has a book cracked open in the seat next to him, and he can see Mel watching the scenery go by whenever he glances in the rearview mirror. Prompto takes a few shortcuts he remembers Ignis taking more than once during their road trip, traveling along dusty back roads surrounded by woods.

Just after the second hour mark, Prompto says, “Uh, guys?” He slows the truck to a stop and reaches to turn the radio down. Lux looks up, and Mel leans forward to wedge herself between their seats so she can see out the windshield better.

Some way or another, a tree has come down, straight across the road. It’s not terribly huge, but there’s no way to get past it. Just off the road, the ground dips on either side and the foliage is too thick for the truck to get through.

“Shit. Do you think we should turn around?” Mel wonders, glancing more at Lux than Prompto.

“If we stuck to the main roads, this wouldn’t be a problem,” Lux grumbles.

“It’s faster this way,” Prompto defends. “Or, well, it’s supposed to be. Look. doubling back is just gonna waste time and gas. We should try to move it, it doesn’t look that heavy.” He looks at the two of them expectantly.

“Yeah, whatever,” Lux says, clearly displeased at having to agree with him. He tosses his book onto the dashboard and climbs out, Mel and Prompto following after him. Prompto leaves the car running so they can use the headlights to see and keep away daemons.

After a quick glance around for any immediate danger, they quickly get to work, Mel and Prompto on one side of the fallen tree and Lux on the other. Just as they manage to lift the tree, branches getting snagged on vines and other plants, the truck’s low rumble suddenly dies out, leaving an eerie silence. Mel gasps as they’re plunged into darkness.

“Fuck,” Lux says.

“Mel, go see if you can get it started again,” Prompto directs. He can see that neither of them are happy with him taking charge of the situation, but someone has to because the alternative is dying, and Prompto is  _ not  _ going to die here.

Mel lets go of the tree, and Prompto grunts at the added weight, but his grip doesn’t falter. While she hurries back to the truck, yanking the door open and clambering inside, Prompto and Lux start rotating the tree so they can try to roll it off the road, hopefully before any daemons show up, but the road is a little narrow and it’s hard to see in the dark, so they’re forced to go slow.

“We’ve got company!” Mel calls suddenly, poking out of the open door so they’ll hear her. She points, and the two of them follow her finger. Just up the road, a group of goblins are quickly heading their way.

“I’ll deal with it, can you move this thing by yourself?” Prompto asks Lux. “I can cover you.”

Lux scoffs, and Prompto wants to tell him to drop the act, because they’re in serious trouble. He’ll have plenty of time to hate Prompto later, but only if they work together to get through this. “Go,” Lux says, so Prompto places his end of the tree on the ground, hopping over it with his gun drawn, and starts firing.

The gunshots drown out the sound of Mel trying and failing to start the truck. Prompto holds his own for a good while, but it seems that every time he kills one goblin, two more take its place. It won’t be long until he’s overwhelmed, if Lux can’t move the tree out of the way and help him out, and if Mel can’t get the truck started, they’re as good as dead.

Prompto backs up a little to accommodate the sheer amount of daemons coming at him. He doesn’t think he’s ever seen so many goblins in one place before. Then again, ever since the sun had gone down, daemon behavior has changed drastically.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see that Lux about to roll the tree off the side of the road. At the same time, a few goblins start to slip past him. “Look out!” Prompto yells, diving forward to knock Lux out of the way. Lux gives an annoyed shout. Claws rake into Prompto side, and the momentum takes him tumbling right off the side of the road. It’s not a far drop by any means, but it’s steep, and Prompto’s ankle rolls painfully as he tries to catch himself.

The daemon comes crashing down with him, landing on top of him and immediately trying to claw at his face. “Get the hell off!” Prompto growls, holding the creature back with one arm while the other brings up his pistol. He shoots the goblin once, twice, before it slumps against him with a cry, and he quickly pushes it off before another one can take its place.

Above him, the truck suddenly roars to life, high beams on, and the rest of the daemons screech and scamper away from the light. Prompto lays there panting for a moment, before Lux appears above him.

“You okay?” Prompto calls, struggling to sit up.

“Yeah,” Lux replies, like he’s too good to even thank Prompto for his help.

“Ah, shit,” Prompto breathes when his side pulls, reaching to press a hand to the wound. “Can you help me up? I think I twisted my ankle.” Lux doesn’t answer, and Prompto looks up. “Lux?”

Mel is behind him, leaning out the driver side door of the truck, watching the exchange unfold. Lux stares down at him, cold and calculating. He narrows his eyes, and Prompto’s heart sinks at the realization of what they’re about to do.

“Don't,” Prompto says, just as Lux takes a step backwards towards the truck. “Lux, seriously, this isn't fucking funny.”

Lux glances back at Mel, and she shrugs an uncaring shoulder, casual, like the two of them aren't leaving someone for dead. Lux turns his back to Prompto and says, “Let's go. One less Nif we'll have to worry about.” He sounds only a little smug, and Prompto wants to scream.

“You can't just-  _ leave  _ me here!” Prompto says, scrambling to get up and go after Lux as he rounds the truck and opens the passenger door. “Wait!”

Mel spares a single glance back, but she holds no remorse and climbs into the truck after Lux. It roars to life, and Prompto watches in disbelief as they peel off down the road, dust kicking up behind them, until their tail lights eventually disappear over the hill.

“What the hell,” is all he can think to say. For a moment, he simply sits there, too stunned to do anything else. Then his injuries give another painful throb, bringing him back to the moment. He’s close to Meldacio now, so he’ll just have to walk there and pray he doesn't become a daemon snack along the way.

He'd make it back, if only out of spite, just to see the shocked look on their faces when he turns up alive. 

Prompto manages to push himself to his feet, but as soon as he puts weight on his injured ankle, he nearly collapses again. He grabs a thick stick to use as a support, painstakingly climbing back up onto the road. He’s already out of breath from just that, but he doesn’t stop, just continues hobbling down the road.

He keeps going, even when he’s well past exhausted, because he’s afraid if he sits to take a rest, he won’t get back up.

As if the Astrals decided to finally have some mercy on him, he doesn’t have any deadly daemon encounters. The only one to pass him is an Iron Giant that he’s able to hide from, tucked carefully behind the burnt up skeleton of a car and breathing heavily, until the daemon wanders away and the ground stops shaking.

Prompto nearly sobs in relief when Meldacio’s floodlights come into view. Seeing the end in sight gives him another burst of adrenaline.

He hobbles past the gate, waves off a few concerned hunters moving to help him as he spots Mel and Lux up ahead. In front of them, back to Prompto, is Gladio’s unmistakable form, arms crossed.

Over Gladio’s shoulder, Mel suddenly locks eyes with him, her green ones widening in surprise as her mouth drops open. “Prompto?”

Lux peers around Gladio’s other shoulder, and Prompto zeroes in on the sight. Despite his tunnel vision, he doesn’t miss the way Gladio whips around, shoulders sagging in relief at the sight of him.

Lux is looking at him in genuine surprise, maybe a little panic, but quickly slips on a mask of faux concern. “Prompto, holy shit, we thought you were dead!” He side-steps around Gladio, coming to meet Prompto halfway. As soon as he’s close enough, Prompto winds back and decks him right across the face.

“Bullshit,” he spits. “You knew I was alive and you fucking left me there.” Lux blinks up at him in surprise, hand pressed against his cheek. He opens his mouth, like he wants to defend himself, but no words come out. Prompto catches the shocked faces of both Gladio and Mel out of the corner of his eye as he drops to straddle Lux's waist, one hand fisted in the man's jacket.

Prompto punches him again, and then it’s suddenly like he can’t stop.

Their homes are gone, the sun's gone, Lady Lunafreya's gone, Iggy's sight is gone, Noct is  _ gone- _

Ardyn and the rest of Niflheim had taken  _ everything,  _ and this bastard had the audacity to group him in with them, after all he'd lost. He might've been born -  _ created -  _ there, but he was a Lucian, through and through.

“I’m a Lucian, you asshole. You have no  _ clue _ what I've been through,” he snaps, raining blows down.

His punches are starting to get sloppy as exhaustion sets in, and Lux manages to block nearly all of them. Someone grabs Prompto’s shoulders, pulling him back. When he looks, it’s Gladio, who finally seems to have come back to his senses. “Prompto, alright,” he says, but his voice is soft and sympathetic; Prompto can still detect the underlying anger, but it’s not as obvious as he’d thought it’d be. Mel is still watching on, stunned.

Prompto lets Gladio pull him off of Lux, collapsing against the larger man while Mel kneels down to inspect Lux’s injuries. He’ll live - Prompto only managed to get a few good hits in, so the worst he’s walking away with is a broken nose and a black eye.

“We don’t leave our own to die, got it?” Gladio snaps, grip on Prompto tightening.

Prompto’s already fading, black creeping into the edges of his vision, so he misses whatever Lux and Mel say to that, if they say anything at all. He sags against Gladio.

When Prompto finally claws his way back to consciousness, he’s in a cramped bedroom, tucked into the only bed. The first thing he hears is the soft rumble of Gladio's voice somewhere to his right.

“...dunno what happened,” Gladio's saying. “These two assholes showed up and said they had to fight some daemons on the way and that he didn't make it. Then he shows up twenty minutes later, covered in blood, and just starts wailing on the guy.” His voice sounds a little echoey, and Prompto cracks his eyes open and turns his head to look for him. The bathroom door is slightly ajar, a sliver of light spilling out into the dim bedroom. “They left him there, just ‘cause he happens to be from Niflheim. It's fucked up, Iggy.” Gladio sounds angry. Prompto knows his protective instincts must be flaring up. Ignis’, too, if the long silence on Gladio’s end is anything to go by.

Eventually, Gladio continues, “Yeah, he's alright now. We gave him a couple potions, he's just sleeping it off. He was practically dead on his feet when he made it here, I'm surprised he had the energy to fight.”  _ I’m surprised he had the energy to make it back,  _ goes unsaid.

Prompto blinks, the reality of the situation soaking in a little bit. He'd been left for dead by two people who were supposed to be on his side, and he'd almost  _ died. _ He could've easily been killed out there, and he’d never see Gladio or Iggy again. He'd never see  _ Noct  _ again. Prompto sinks into the mattress.

Then Gladio snorts. “Kid’s come a long way,” he says softly. Prompto stomach flutters at that, because proving himself and impressing the three of them had been the biggest thing on his mind when they were younger, and he'd be lying if he said doing so wasn't important to him anymore.

There's a silence as Gladio listens to whatever Ignis is saying, and then he answers, “Dave's dealing with ‘em right now, but a couple others have already given ‘em a piece of their mind. They'll get what they deserve, I'll make sure of it.” After a minute, he adds, “Alright, yeah. Stay safe, Iggy. See you soon.”

Gladio remains in the bathroom for a few moments after he’s hung up, and Prompto hears him heave a huge sigh. Then he appears in the doorway, eyes crinkling in a grin when he sees Prompto looking back at him. “Hey, kid,” he says.

“Hey.” Prompto gives him a tired smile.

Gladio snatches a water bottle off the dresser as he comes over to the bed, tossing it to Prompto before taking a seat beside him. Prompto chugs the water greedily, dropping the bottle carelessly onto the floor when he’s done and flopping back against the mattress.

“You good?” Gladio asks after a beat of silence.

“Yeah,” Prompto says immediately.

“You sure? ‘Cause you got a little carried away back there,” Gladio says casually, but there’s concern behind it.

Prompto shrugs. “I was just… angry, I guess.”

Gladio hums, leaning back against the headboard. “You wanna talk about it?” he offers.

“Not really,” Prompto says. “Everything just sucks.”

Gladio sighs, then carefully shimmies down until he’s laying beside Prompto, slinging an arm across the blond’s shoulders and pulling him closer. Prompto sighs, too. “I know,” Gladio tells him, “but Noct’s gonna come back, and then we’re gonna kick Ardyn’s ass.”

Prompto presses his face into Gladio’s chest and wills himself to believe it.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoyed! Comments and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](http://k-ovic.tumblr.com/) and [twitter.](https://twitter.com/choco_bee_) Follow for updates, and DMs are always open, so feel free to chat :)


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